edstraker123

I've got 1000+ feedbacks at 100% and I'm not going to bother with them again. You sell one decent guitar or bass and you are then monitored by HMRC - I'm not a business and I don't want to have to keep accounts to justify the losses I make when I sell instruments.

On 08/04/2025 at 08:03, Hutton said:

You are absolutely correct in checking feedback. A problem however is that not everyone leaves feedback even when they have benefitted from feedback in a particular transaction. I would urge everyone to take a moment to leave feedback when it has been merited.

Yes leave good and bad feedback - let people know who they are actually dealing with. You can get carried away with the good spirited nature of the forum and whilst most people are gems , be as careful as you would when buying on any forum particularly when considering how much protection you have should things go wrong.

20 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Agreed, i worry when i see stuff price at dangerously low prices in some places that it's because they're about to go under....

I was so stupid to gamble on the EVH  - it worked out in the end but could have been £750 I didn't see for quite some time ( although I had used Paypal)

The website is down today - says due to technical issues.  I agree with the post above - its always sad to see a music retailer go under.

2 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

It actually makes such an old thing look fresh.

If  I buy one will it work on me ? 😄

A great birthday present for somebody I was struggling to find something for . Much obliged Jack !

16 hours ago, stevel said:

Yup, the same suspects win time and time again

Yes that's exactly what I assumed the reason was but it was enough to make me stop playing. It would be better if they had a max no. of tickets in any draw but I appreciate they are running a business so just need to sell as many tickets as possible and these big players are their lifeblood. I guess they will stick with the current model unless too many people get fed up with it or wrongly think something dodgy is going on.

And put a few more knobs on it 😁

I wondered how good the setup would be given they are primarily a computer retailer. Glad you found it o.k.

I was interested to see if the usual suspects were still winning more than a year after I stopped playing so I just checked the recent draw results and they are.

If anybody is interested look out for Clarke Abernethy and Robert Parfitt and see how often they win.  I'm not suggesting anything illegitimate is happening at all but would love to understand why these guys are so lucky. I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation.

1 hour ago, aniki said:

They were due to be struck off the company register any day now due to non-disclosure of accounts. Apparently they have raised an 'objection' which probably just means they're trying to buy a bit more time to scam people for a bit longer!

Wow - just looked that up - seems I may have been one of the lucky ones.

Given the comments I do think I was lucky - and will stop myself looking at the 15% off studio items sale !

There were names that came up much more than twice - the odds would have been astronomical for so many wins based on buying a reasonable number of tickets.  I enjoyed playing - it was a bit of fun for not much cash but it became so noticeable even Mrs Straker would say did such and such win again !

Guitar landed this morning ( great service and as fast as a UK retailer). Was well packaged and all working as it should. It was actually set up better than the last guitar I bought from Guitar Guitar but presumably this is a factory rather than retailer thing. £550 saved ! I like a happy ending !

Relicing should be outlawed as a crime against humanity (or at least instruments). When was the last time you went to a car dealership and paid extra for fake dents and scratches ?

I went back on my word as they've had some great items on sale over the last 2 weeks. Got some Fender ultra noiseless strat pickups for less than half price which arrived without issue and ordered an EVH Wolfgang Special which I got for £707 yesterday which is priced back at £1259 today. There is a new burgundy sparkle Jack Casady on for £500 - somebody needs to buy it before temptation gets the better of me. Wish me luck for the guitar delivery which is Tue/Wed. Paid via Paypal in case of any dramas.

On 18/01/2024 at 19:11, TimR said:

Has anyone had a punt on anybody these fantastic chances to win a bass?

I played a few draws a week draw for a good few months but noticed the same names kept coming up as winners - certainly beyond the realms of good luck. I don't think anything illegitimate was going on, just some punters presumably buying a gazillion tickets in all the good draws. It put me off and I haven't bothered since.

I reserved a used Squier Bass Vi  in Antigua in my LGS on Friday based on a description of mint - went to collect it at lunchtime, had a play and it sounded fine then gave it a final once over and saw a chip out of the body near the neck pocket - was absolutely gutted. The 2 owners and tech said they'd all checked it and it wasn't there when it came in and nobody else had touched it. One suggested (half) laughing that I must have done it.

I guess when you take a lot of guitars in and you're a small store that gets busy you can become a bit snow blind to defects. They offered to knock £25 off but it would have had a much bigger impact than this when I invariably sold it so didn't bother. The owner bashed it against a precision when hanging it back on the wall - I think I learnt how it might have happened !

That looks really nice - I had seen them there but wasn't sure as they say they are acrylic with the colour underneath but that looks stunning !

I did wonder whether to put flats on mine but it sounds and plays so nice as it is I don't want to mess that up. I'd love to put a gold pickguard and trc on it - but impossible to get hold of a good one.

I have a mint one of these and its definitely one of my favourite basses ever. So classy in walnutburst. Good luck with the sale. I wonder who has the other 23 😄

9 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

So here was I thinking you'd all like to look at some nice instruments that a nice guy advertises on Gumtree and all you can all do is moan about his prices and make assumptions. It's all very sad, pathetic and typical social media

Or simply based on our experiences which may have been different than your own.

2 minutes ago, Killerfridge said:

it doesn't look like he's trying to "flip" them as such,

Well for what he offered me for mine in a potential px deal I'm not convinced of that.

4 hours ago, Killerfridge said:

ssuming he's not just buying with the intent to sell, then he should be fine regardless of the throughput.

 I understand that but where does the burden of proof lie ? If you have 30 basses for sale it doesn't look like you are just trying them and then selling them on - particularly at the prices he charges.

I was interested in a Cort he had up - he wanted nearly £400 more than it went for new for in Guitar Guitar - I sent him the link but wouldn't entertain dropping the price which he's quite entitled to do I might add !

I guess he's just hoping people aren't doing research or are happy to pay which some obviously are.

In his defence he did seem a very pleasant chap.

I don't think he'd take the commission hit tbh. Seems quite happy to hold onto them . Be interesting to know if Gumtree / FB marketplace now report people to HMRC as ebay now do ( I think after sales of > £1700 ) as it would look like he was a trader with so many for sale at one time and therefore potentially liable to tax,